NEW YORK — With the outcome already decided in the waning seconds, St. John’s students couldn’t resist.

“Who’s your daddy? Who’s your daddy?” came the chant in a crowd of 12,310 at Madison Square Garden.

Father was best in this family affair.

Rick Pitino defeated his son again Sunday in their latest coaching clash, as No. 22 St. John’s (4-0) passed its first real test this season by topping New Mexico 85-71 behind 21 points and 11 rebounds from RJ Luis Jr.

Richard Pitino, coach of the Lobos (3-1), didn’t seem to mind the catcalls too much.

A huge New York Yankees fan, he immediately recalled the origin of that derisive chorus, directed by Bronx Bombers backers years ago at Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez.

“Other than that, I laughed it off. I didn’t think much of it,” said Richard Pitino, who attended a World Series game at Yankee Stadium with his dad last month. “This is what our obnoxious New York fans do, and I’m part of it.”

Rick Pitino wasn’t thrilled, though.

“I don’t get upset at the crowd,” he said. “I just wish they would stop saying that.”

Rick Pitino, in his second season at St. John’s, improved to 3-1 in coaching matchups against his son. The previous two wins came when the 72-year-old Hall of Famer was at Louisville.

Richard Pitino beat his father’s Iona team two years ago at The Pit. That’s one of only two victories by sons in 22 coaching matchups vs. their dads in Division I history.

“OK, he’s my son so I’m going to brag on him: He is a great young coach. Great young coach. His offensive mind is brilliant. He puts you in situations that really hurt you defensively,” Rick Pitino said.

“He’s got a great team this year. He does it with all new players, different players. He’s one of the bright young offensive minds in the game today. So, he’s a lot different than me. He handles losing much better than me.”

Other separators are easier to see.

Always a sharp dresser, Rick Pitino paced the sideline Sunday in a charcoal gray suit and snappy red tie. A few feet away, Richard wore a long-sleeve New Mexico mini-zip with track pants and sneakers.

Right after the final horn, they met for a quick embrace and headed to the handshake line following New Mexico’s first game at Madison Square Garden since the 1990 National Invitation Tournament.

“So much fun to be a part of,” said 42-year-old Richard Pitino, an assistant coach under his father at Louisville. “Although we didn’t win, I’m very, very grateful that my dad agreed to do it, and I’m grateful that my players were able to experience something like this.”

But he doesn’t expect pops to bring St. John’s out to Albuquerque to play at The Pit anytime soon.

“He would never do it, but I would love for him to do it,” Richard Pitino said.

“If I go back to Iona in a few years, I’ll go back to The Pit,” Rick Pitino said, drawing chuckles.

Rick Pitino said his daughter, Jacqueline, and another son, Ryan, would sit behind the St. John’s bench and stay neutral. But his wife, Joanne, made no secret about her plans to sit behind the New Mexico bench with her sister and best friend and root hard for Richard.

“‘You’re my blood. He’s not,’” Rick Pitino recounted his wife telling Richard. “So, it shows you how much she loves me and how much she loves Richard.”

Nelly Junior Joseph, who played for Rick Pitino at Iona before transferring to New Mexico, had 16 points in the loss.

The game marked the NYC Hoops for Heroes Classic benefiting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a very meaningful organization to the Pitino family. Rick Pitino’s brother-in-law and closest friend, Billy Minardi, was killed in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

“I think the way The Garden got behind the game, I thought it was unbelievable for me, and my son will remember this forever,” Rick Pitino said.

St. John’s is 3-0 on the year with three 20-plus point wins.

Of course, the Johnnies haven’t played anybody, overwhelming Fordham, Quinnipiac and Wagner.

New Mexico will be Rick Pitino and Co.’s toughest test yet.

The Lobos have already posted a KenPom top-25 win after beating UCLA last Friday in Las Vegas.

Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph are a formidable inside-out duo. 

These are two similar squads, and I think the Lobos have a fighting chance of keeping it close for 40 minutes.

New Mexico vs. St. John’s odds

New Mexico vs. St. John’s prediction

(12 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)

Both squads run up-tempo, transition-reliant offenses centered around their backcourts. The Lobos and Johnnies will put the ball in their guards’ hands and let them run the open court for 40 minutes. 

Both squads have talented frontcourt pieces but limited frontcourt depth. They are also limited in the shooting and spacing departments, often creating in the mid-range. 

These are two above-average transition defenses, so while I expect plenty of transition attempts, both might find trouble scoring efficiently. 

But there are a few matchup wrinkles that favor the Lobos. 

In theory, Coach Pitino’s matchup zone defense should neutralize ball-screen actions. 

But in practice, the Johnnies’ ball-screen coverage has been more than sketchy. They ranked 332nd nationally in pick-and-roll PPP allowed last season (.88) and allowed opponents to run the set at a well-above-average rate.

That doesn’t bode well for this matchup, given the Lobos run almost exclusively ball-screen sets with Dent, Junior Joseph and Mustapha Amzil in the half-court. 

Additionally, I’m impressed with New Mexico’s rim pressure in the early season. The Lobos are averaging 28 at-the-rim field-goal attempts per game (98th percentile). That will undoubtedly result in higher-efficiency shots than St. John’s mid-range-reliant attack.

The Johnnies ranked 325th nationally in Rim-and-3 rate last season, and their most significant offseason addition is former Seton Hall guard Kadary Richmond, a talented two-way player who spends too much time pedaling in the middle of the floor. 

I’m also uncertain how the Red Storm’s offense will look without Joel Soriano.

Sunday will be their first true test without their former star center. 

He grabbed a million offensive rebounds last year, masking a shooting-deficient roster by creating consistent second-chance offense.

This year’s roster doesn’t have an adequate replacement, especially if they keep playing the 6-foot-7 RJ Luis at the four. 

That gets to a more overarching point about roster continuity.

Teams with more returning production tend to outperform teams with less in the early season — fully formed teams perform better than the transfer-laden ones in November and December. 

Betting on College Basketball?

New Mexico ranks 66th nationally in minutes continuity (49%), while St. John’s ranks 263rd (22%).

The Johnnies are relying on four transfers for significant possession minutes. 

New Mexico vs. St. John’s pick

The Lobos and Johnnies play very similar schemes, making me think the two will play a closely-contested game. 

But I’m willing to back New Mexico’s returning players and ball-screen offense against St. John’s transfers and sketchy ball-screen coverage defense. 

Best Bet: New Mexico +8.5 (-108, FanDuel)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Devon Dampier scored on a 1-yard run with 21 seconds left and New Mexico beat No. 19 Washington State 38-35 on Saturday night for its first victory over a ranked team since 2003, dashing the Cougars’ slim College Football Playoffs hopes.

Dampier ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries and completed 11 of 25 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. Eli Sanders added 108 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Lobos (5-6).

“We don’t win without him,” Lobos coach Bronco Mendenhall said about Dampier. “And when your quarterback could run the ball like that, that tough and that physical, with the deception also of having Eli Sanders and NaQuari (Rogers) running the ball, as well. Gosh, well, that’s what winning and really good football teams do, right? They run when they need to, and you stop the run when you have to.”

Dampier ran for 142 yards and both touchdowns in the second half. He moved New Mexico 75 yards on the winning drive after Washington State (8-2) took a 35-31 lead with 3:12 left on John Mateer’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.

Mateer was 25 of 36 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Williams had nine receptions for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

“We’ll be defined by what we do next,” Cougars coach Jake Dickert said. “Me, as the head coach, our seniors, our leaders, all of our guys, you have two options, and then you can go out there and fight each other, or you can fight what happened to you and come back ready to work.”

New Mexico took a 31-28 lead with 4:40 left in the game on Luke Drzewiecki’s 21-yard field goal.

Trailing 28-14 at the half, the Lobos tied it in the third quarter on Dampier’s 33-yard touchdown run and Sander’s 26-yard scoring dash.

Takeaways

Washington State: After Washington State moved up and down the field in the first half, scoring four touchdowns and accumulating 357 yards in total offense and punting just once, but the Lobos forced the Cougars to punt on the first three possessions of the second half. Mateer was 3 of 9 for 16 yards in the third quarter

“I thought they were more aggressive defensively in the second half,” Dickert said. “You know, I thought they stayed with a couple different personnel deals. They do a good job schematically on offense.”

New Mexico: The Lobos remained in position to become bowl eligibility in Mendenhal’s first season.

Poll implications

The Cougars will drop after the loss.

Up next

Washington State: At Oregon State next Saturday.

New Mexico: At Hawaii on Nov. 30

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